Electric snap-switch.



M. GUETT.

ELECTRIC SNAP SWITCH.

'APPLlATIoN rlLEu FEB. 21. um;l

1,280,018. Patented Sept. 221, 1918.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MONROE GUETT, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE HART & HEGEMAN MANUFACTURING COMPA CONNECTICUT. i

, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF ELECTRIC SNAP-SWITCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 24, 1918.

Application filed February 27, 1918. Serial No. 219,355.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, MONROE GUETT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hartford, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Snap- Switches, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates tok electric snap switches, the object of the invention being to provide an article of this character by which the switching member can be readily and easily moved between the two positions thereof. Another object is to provide means of an effective character by which theactuating and switching means can be substantially mounted. A

In the drawings accompanying and forming part of the present specification I have shown and will hereinafter describe in detail a structure comprising the invention. I am not necessarily restricted to this precise showing; I may depart therefrom in several 'particulars within the scope of the invention deiined by the claims following said description. l

Referring to said drawings:

Figure 1 is a face view of a switch invo1ving the invention.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the same.

actuator and its mounting and certain ad- Junctive ele-ments, the former being in its more particularly described.

l by is along the same general` lines as that set Like characters refer' to like parts throughout the several views. y

In a measure the invention involved hereforth in Letters Patent No. 1,262,331, issued to me April 9, 1918. The present invention may be embodied in swi'tches o l" various types; 'itis shown incorporated ina wall switch. A switch of this character com- Fig. 3 is a sectional detail illustrating the prises a body as 2 generally of some suitable insulating material and which is chambered as at 3 to inclose the switch mechanism. The switch mechanism involves a switching member such as 4 obviously located and movable in the chamber 3. The chamber 3 is provided with two sets or pairs of contacts 5 adapted to be alternately mechanically and electrically bridged by the work ing end of the switching member 1, said working end as shown being in the form of an anti-friction roller 6 which is assumed to be bridging the contacts 5 on the right in Fig. 2. The roller in moving between the on and the olf positions travels upon the concaved or arcuate 'bead or fin 3- rising from the bottom or door of the chamber 3,1 which is generally and as shown concaved. The upper sides of the two pairs of contacts 5 are flush with the upper side of the bead or 1in 3 which as shown is integral with the body 2. The ends of said bead are spread short distances from the respective con-I tacts 5.

The switching member 4l ordinarily comprises complemental sections 7. These complemental sections are surrounded by the coiled spring 8, the lower or inner end of which bears against shoulders as 9 on the sections 7, and the upper end of which re` ceives a washer 10 slotted for the passage of the said sections 7. Generally speaking this form of switching member is not unlike that disclosed by the patent which I have already identilied. y

The actuator for the switching member is shown consisting of a lever or rocker as 11 fulcrumed between its ends upon a suitable support such as the duplicate brackets l2 rigidly fastened as by the screws 13 to the body 2, the screws engaging o'utturned feet o'n vthe brackets. The upper and upright bearing portions 14 of the brackets are as shown notched 'as at l5, the transversely alined notches receiving the coaxial journal portions 1G of the actuator or lever. 11. These coaxial journal portions may lin fact be presented by a single pin. The lower end of the actuator is provided with duplicate' and slots as 18 in lthe upper or complemental sections 7 between which, as will be understood, the lower end of said actuator comparatively freely fits. The lower extreme of the actuator bears against the washer 10, so that as the actuator is manipulated the spring 8 can be compressed to snap the switching member. The actuator has a manipulating portion as 19 practically of spherical or ball shape. I will hereinafter describe a way of maintaining at all times the journals or gudgeons 16 properly in their seats or notches 15.

In Fig. 2 the switching member is supposed to be in one of its extreme positions. To move it to the other extreme position the following procedure may be adopted: The manipulating portion 19 will be grasped for instance between the thumb and the fore linger and swung over, obviously thus rocking the actuator. On the movement of the actuator the studs or pins 17 following an arc carry the upper end of the switching member therewith and move the washer 10 downward, thus compressing the spring until at such time as the dead center line of the switching mechanism is crossed whenr (the/f spring by reaction will instantly move the switching member to the olf position, at which time the actuator will occupy the dotted line position shown in Fig. 3.

The ournals 16 are surmounted by a cap or thimble 20, having 'an elongated slot 21 to receive the body portion 22 of the actuator 11, the journals 16 extending from vthis body portion which is approximately of flat circular form. The thimble or cap 2O is generally of metal, and it is threaded into the insulating ring 23, the face plate 24 having an opening 25 to receive the insulating ring which overlies'the face plate as at 26. This latter structure I might observe is covered in my application Serial No. 213,444, filed January 24, 1918. The insulating ring 23 provides in addition to a means for insulating the cap, the further function of holding said cap in position so that it can effectively retain the journals 16 in their notches or seats 15. Lateral movement of the lever 11 is prevented by the ring 27 which ts closely within the flanged part of the thimble or cap 20, the inner wall of the ring being positioned in proximity to the outer ends of the journals for the purpose. This ring 27 can be held in position by the lugs or' ears 28 hooked thereover and extending from the bod)T of the cap or thimble 20. The ears or lugs 28 are integral with the cap 20 and are stock cut therefrom in forming the slot 21. The practically circular body 22 of the lever 11 is furnished with the shoulders 29 which are adapted to alternately engage the lugs 28 as shown for instancf by full and dotted lines in Fig. 3 to thus positively arrest the lever 11 and consequently the switching member 4 when the latter is in its extreme positions and when the switching member 4 is in its on and off positions respectively.

The face plate 24 to which I have referred may be connected as by the screws 30 with the bars 31 united as is more or less common with the insulatingbody 2.

What I claim is:

1. An electric switch comprising a supporting body having a concavity, a swinging switching member having an anti-friction roller at its free end, the body having contacts to be engaged by said roller, a swinging actuator for causing the operation of the switching member and spring means carried by the switching member and tensioned by the actuator on the initial movement thereof and then released thereby on the'further movement of the actuator, said spring means when released serving to snap the switching member, the bottom of said concavity having an arcuate bead to be Atraversed by said roller when itepasses from said contacts.

1 2. An electric switch comprising a supl. 'porting body having a concavity, a swinging switching member having a roller at its' free end, the body having two sets of contacts to bea-lternately engaged by the roller, a swinging actuator for causing the operation of the switching member, and spring meanstensioned by the actuator on the initial movement thereof and then released thereby on the further movement of the actuator, the spring means when released acting to snap the switching member to carry said roller from one set of contacts to the other, 'the switching member engaging a lrelatively fixed part of the switch to arrest said switching member in its two positions, the bottom of the cavity having an arctuate bead between the two pairs of contacts, to be traversed by said roller in moving between the contacts. l

3. An electric switch comprising a body, 'bearings on the body having notches, a rocking actuator provided with journals, the i notches of the bearings receiving said journals, a face plate on the body, an insulating ring setin the face plate, athimble in the ring slotted to receive the actuator and holding the journals in said notches, and switching mechanism operable by the actuator.

4. An electric switch comprising a body, bearings 0n the body having notches, a rocking actuator provided with journals fitting said notches, a face plate associated with the body, an insulating ring set in the face plate, a thimble in the ring slotted to receive the actuator and holding the journals in said notches, a. washer fitted Within the thimble and surrounding the journals to limit endwise movement thereof, and switching mechanism operable by the actuator.

1,280,018 f 3 5. An electric switch comprising a sup- In testimony Whereof'I afx my signature porting body having ay concavty provided in the presence of two Witnesses. Wlth a bead, contacts at the end of the bead,

a switching member ,to traverse the conv MONROE GUETT 6 cavity, and means for moving the switching Witnesses:

member from Jche contacts onto the bead SAMUEL A. GRISWOLD,

' and vice versa. MADELINE E. M. MUSSGNUG- 

